Walking roundabout



April 16, 1963 s. CIRAMI 3,085,516

WALKING ROUNDABOUT Original Filed 001;. 21, 1958 8 Sheets-Sheet l April16, 1963 s. ClRAMl WALKING ROUNDABOUT 8 Sheets-Sheet 2 Original FiledOct. 21, 1958 INVENTOR.

April 16, 1963 s. CIRAMI WALKING ROUNDABOUT 8 Sheets-Sheet 3 OriginalFiled Oct. 21, 1958 INVENTOR.

FIG. 3

8 Sheets-Sheet 4 Original Filed Oct. 21, 1958 INVENTOR.

April 16, 1963 s. ClRAMl WALKING ROUNDABOUT 8 Sheets-Sheet 5 OriginalFiled Oct. 21, 1958 INVENTOR.

April 16, 1963 s. CIRAMI 3,085,516

WALKING ROUNDABOUT Original Filed Oct. 21, 1958 8 Sheets-Sheet 6 29 FIG.6

23 IN VENTOR.

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April 16, 1963 s. CIRAMI WALKING ROUNDABOUT 8 Sheets-Sheet '7 OriginalFiled 001:. 21, 1958 INVENTOR.

F l E FE C an A ril 16, 1963 s. CIRAMI 3,085,516

WALKING ROUNDABOUT Original Filed Oct. 21, 1958 8 Sheets-Sheet 8INVENTOR.

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Patented Apr. 16, 1963 ice 3,085,516 WALKlNG ROUNDABOUT SalvatoreCirarni, 75-36 Parsons Blvd, Flushing 67, N311.

@riginal application Oct. 21, 1958, Ser. No. 768,793. Divided and thisapplication Dec. '7, 1959, Ser. No. 859,550

3 Claims. (til. 104247) This invention relates to amusement rides, andmore particularly to an amusement ride in which a passenger carryingwalking figure is employed to transport passengers around a closed loopof trackway as a means of displacing passengers for their merriment andto create an entertaining illusion for the benefit of both riders andonlookers.

The object of the invention is to provide a roundabout in which aplurality of walking figures are separately coupled along a common guiderail that is supported at an elevation alongside a course on which thefigures travel; and each figure is provided with its own motor so thatit can walk alongside the guide rail independently of all the others.

This disclosure is a division of Robot Amusement Ride, applicationSerial Number 768,793 filed October 21, 1958; and serves to claim thestepping robot in combination with the trackway as originally disclosedthere. The present drawings are a duplicate of those of the originalapplication. The trackway illustrated is separately claimed in Trackwayand Yoke Arrangement, application Serial Number 859,072 filed December11, 1959.

FIG. 1 is a perspective view illustrating in a general way the travel ofthe robots alongside a portion of a trackway guiding and supplyingelectricity to them.

FIG. 2 is a top plan view of five robots following a simple trackwaylayout.

FIG. 3 is a side elevation of one robot and related trackway, with partsbroken and appearing in section.

FIG. 4 is a front view of the same unit with parts shown in section.

FIG. 5 is a broken part sectional perspective view of the walkingmechanism.

FIG. 6 is a front broken sectional view of the same.

FIG. 7 is a side elevation and diagrammatic View illustrating differentpositionsof one foot member.

FIG. 8 is a broken part perspective view showing the yoke structureemployed to connect a robot to the trackway.

FIG. 9 is a broken part detail of the spring mounted contact rollerassembly that engages an electric current carrying rail of the trackway,and is shown partly in phantom view.

FIGS. 10, 1 1, 12 and 13 are detail views of the trackway: FIG. 10 beinga broken part sectional front elevation, FIG. 11 a broken part sectionaltop. plan, FIG. 12 a cross sectional view and FIG. 13 a broken partsectional perspective view.

Referring to FIGS. 1 and 2 it will be seen that the invention comprisesstepping robots of passenger carrying size containing self-propulsionmechanism and linked by yokes 16 to a guiding and power supplyingtrackway 17 in the form of a closed loop to thereby automatically returnoutgoing robots to the starting point.

Arms 51; a head (the transparent enclosure 21.); antennae 19; eyes (thelamps 18); and a mouth (the decoration under the eyes); coact to makethe open top passenger compartment '15 look like the torso of a robot,FIGS. 2 and 3.

In FIGS. 5 and 6 a rotatable crankshaft (comprising a main shaft 27 witha perpendicular offset 56 at each end in opposed throw, and minor shafts25, 26 supported by the offsets and parallel with the main shaft) isjournaled in spaced apart bearings 30 fixed to and depending from theunderside of the floor 31.

A geared down electric motor 29, FIG. 5 is mounted on top of the floor31 (equivalent to the space under the seat) and is provided with powertransmission means 28 extending through a slot in the floor to connectthe motor to the portion of the main shaft exposed between the bearings30.

Foot members 22, 23 in the form of low, hollow, opentop boxes with alarge cutout 55 in their inboard wall 54 are provided with a bearing 52fixed to the outboard wall 53. The cutouts and open tops permit thebearings 30 and crankshaft assembly to set down into the boxes. Bycontaining the actuating elements within them, the foot members make amajor contribution to low vehicular height. This hollow box feature, byconcealing the drive means, enhances the machines usefulness inamusement ride applications by creating wonderment as to the vehiclesmotivation. It also protects operating parts from ground dust raised bythe foot members pounding on terrain dried by summer heat.

The bearings 5'2 are designed to retain the minor shafts, being sopositioned that each box will hang in balanced dependence from itsrespective minor shaft. This relationship is shown in FIG. 7 where onefoot member or box is shown in some of the positions through which itwill pass in each revolution of the crankshaft. The bearings 52 arepositioned high enough above the base of the box so that the ofifsetwill clear the base when the foot is in the uplifted position. Becausethe foot member is free to pivot around the minor shaft, the undersideof the base 24 remains level as the crankshaft rotates.

In operation rotation of the crankshaft :by the motor causes the footmembers 22, 23 to be alternately lifted, advanced, lowered and returnedin a plane perpendicular to the axis of the main shaft 27. In this way,each foot member in turn supports and advances the vehicle a distanceequal to twice the throw of the actuating minor shaft 26. i

The passenger compartment 15 is provided with a seat '20, FIG. 1,positioned rearward in said compartment and so constructed and arrangedas to provide a space under the seat suitable to house a motor 29', FIG.3.

The numeral 31, FIG. 3 indicates a structure serving to support thecompartment 15 above, and a stepper below. Because the floor of thecompartment rests directly upon the support 31, it is convenient torefer to 31 as the fioor of the passenger compartment.

The walls of the compartment depend below the level of the floor 31 farenough to conceal from general view the means employed to move the footmembers 22, 23, FIG. 3; which are arranged fixed to and depending fromthe underside of the support or floor 31.

The yokes 16, FIG. 2 are secured to one side of the compartment 15, andthe actual point of connection, in this embodiment, is at the undersideof the support or floor 31'. This relationship is best seen in FIG. 8,where the floor or support structure 31 is shown enlarged.

Since the walls of the passenger compartment depend-as indicated by 49,FIGS. 1, 4below the level of the floor, and the yoke arms 33 projectlaterally from the underside of the floor; it is necessary to provideopenings at 50, FIG. 1 to pass the yoke arms.

The yokes 16, FIG. 2 link the robots to a guide rail 4%, which it can beseen in FIGS. 3, 4 is carried at an elevation above the ground or levelplane upon which the robot stands.

Each yoke comprises a pair of arms 33, FIG. 8, rigidly heldby a closedside 34in fixed spaced apart relation in a horizontal plane. The arms33' are provided rigidly fixed to the closed side 34.

It is desirable that the yoke be pivotally connected to the ridersupport or floor 31 in such arrangement that the rider support, or thecompartment attached on the floor 31 will be permitted a limited degreeof freedom to lean toward and away from the guide rail 40. To accomplishthis, the closed side 34 of the yoke is provided in the form of a shaftand is arranged journaled in bearings 35 fixed to and depending from theunderside of the floor 31. The degree to which the compartment can leanis limited by the rod 36 which is fixed to the closed side or shaft 34and arranged projecting into a confining loop 37. The end of each yokearm 33 that is furthest from the end that is fixed to the closed side 34is termed in the claims a free end. In FIG. 8, it can be seen that thefree end of each yoke arm is provided with means to link the arm to theguide rail; and since a separate such means is provided for each arm, itis clear that the arms are independently linked to the guide rail. Thismeans that the arms will be able to follow horizontal undulations orturns in the guide rail, independently of each other; the significancebeing that because of this feature the yoke will be able to follow turnsof small radius although the arms are spread far enough apart to causethe support 31 to follow turns in the rail efficiently (without turningin towards the rail itself and jamming against it).

Each means to independently link the free end of a yoke arm 33 to theguide rail 40 comprises a pair of rollers 38, 39 disposed to roll aroundseparate horizontal axes, said axes lying parallel to each other andspaced apart in the same vertical plane. The rollers are provided with aconcave periphery to correspond with the guide rail which is providedwith a circular cross-section, as shown best in FIG. 12. The rollers arearranged one above and one below the guide rail so as to confine theguide rail between them. Means to hold the rollers in the describedrelationship relative to each other and relative to the guide rail areprovided in the form of a C-shaped rack 41 pivotally connected to thefree end of the yoke arm in such arrangement that the rackand thereforethe rollers-swivels around a vertical axis. In the embodimentillustrated, this is achieved by mounting the rack in a C-shaped frame57 in such arrangement that the rack 41 swivels around the pin 42passing through the upper horizontal arms of both C-shaped structures. Asimilar pin is provided to connect the lower horizontal arms of theC-shaped structures. The pin 42 is positioned such that the rollersswivel around a vertical axis that perpendicularly intersects thehorizontal axis of each roller and passes through the center of acircular cross-section of the guide rail taken in the vertical plane inwhich said horizontal axes are disposed.

The trackway includes a power rail 43, FIG. 8, to carry electric currentfor the robots motor and the decorative lamps 18. A pickup for thecurrent is provided in the form of a roller 44 yieldingly carried by aspring 45 and connected by wiring 46 (see FIG. 9, where the pickup isshown enlarged) passed through the inside of the yoke arm-which isprovided hollowand connected to the motor installed on the floor 31, andconnected to the lamps installed on the compartment which is arrangedattached on the floor or support 31. The insulating block 58electrically isolates the roller 44 and spring 45 from the yoke arm; andthe screws that connect the block 58 to the spring and yoke structureare shown in phantom view to reveal the method of attachment and also toshow how the wiring 46 is connected to the spring 45, FIG. 9.

Turning to FIGS. ll3, the trackway comprises a guide rail 40 carried atan elevation by spaced apart posts 47, and held apart from the posts bya laterally projecting support 59. The power rail 43 is arranged abovethe guide rail and is covered by an overhanging shield 48. FIG. 13suggests alternate methods of securing the posts to the ground, thechoice depending on whether the installation is permanent on concrete atthe left, or temporary in earth at the right.

To dramatize the walking feature of the robots, I put them in directcontact with the course, which may be the ground itself or gravel orsand, etc., and control their direction of travel with the trackwaystanding to one side, Where it may be made as inconspicuous as possiblewith camouflage.

In practice, a number of robots or other figures are operated on thesame trackway, one following the other; the number of vehicles andtherefore the capacity of the ride limited only by the length oftrackway in use, and additional merriment created by including hills andvalleys or other obstacles or experiences in the course.

I claim:

1. In a walking roundabout of the type Where a human passenger istransported on a stepping rider support that is provided with a pair offoot members, where means are provided to alternately lift, advance,lower and return said foot members, said means so constructed andarranged as to support th weight of said rider support on said footmembers, and where said rider support is provided with a motor that isconnected to drive said means; in combination with said rider support:

.a guide rail arranged in a closed loop and provided with means tosupport the rail at an elevation alongside a course paralleling saidguide rail;

a yoke comprising a pair of arms having free ends rigidly held-by aclosed side-in fixed spaced apart relation in a horizontal plane;

means to independently link the free end of each yoke arm to said guiderail in riding engagement with same, said means so constructed andarranged that each yoke arm is required to follow horizontal turns inthe guide rail, and the said closed side of the yoke projects away fromthe guide rail and towards said course;

means to provide a yielding relationship between the free end of eachyoke arm and said guide rail such that the closed side of the yoke has adegree of freedom to move around the longitudinal axis of the guiderail, sufiicient to assure the rider support traction on said coursewhen the rider support is arranged secured to the closed side of theyoke;

said closed side of the yoke provided secured to one side of said ridersupport in such arrangement that said yoke is carried along the rail bythe progress of the rider support on said course, and the rider supportis confined to walking alongside the guide rail and is required tofollow the rail through turns;

said closed side of the yoke provided pivotally connected to said ridersupport along a horizontal axis in such arrangement that the ridersupport is permitted a limited degree of freedom to lean toward and awayfrom said guide rail as a result of the lifting and lowering of saidfoot members, sufficient to impart a rolling displacement to said ridersupport, but not enough to permit the rider support to fall on its side.

2. In a walking-robot roundabout:

a stepping robot adapted to the carriage of one or more passengers fortheir merriment and the entertainment of onlookers, comprising:

a torso in the form of an open top passenger compart ment having a fioorand provided with walls arranged upright and immediately encirclingpassengers in such manner as to confine and restrict their movement insaid compartment, said walls proportioned reaching no higher thanshoulder height of said passengers;

a head in the form of an enclosure attached on top of said compartment,constructed large enough to encompass the head and shoulders of saidpassangers and so constructed and arranged as to provide visibility forsaid passengers and ventilation of said compartment;

arms attached on said compartment;

a single pair of foot members, said foot members located depending andspaced apart from the underside of said floor a distance adequate toprovide passing clearance between the top of said foot members and theunderside of said floor;

means to alternately lift, advance, lower and return said foot members,said means located under said floor and fixed to said compartment, andso constructed and arranged as to support the Weight of said compartmenton said foot members;

a motor connected to drive said means;

the combination so constructed and arranged as to provide a passengercarrying robot having a space inside its head contiguous with a spaceinside its torso suitable for occupancy by passengers, and soproportioned that said passengers can occupy the space at theconjunction of the head and torso with sufficient freedom to turn aboutin the act of waving and shouting to onlookers, although the robot isprovided with a compact torso and is scaled such that they must occupyboth the head and torso simultaneously;

the combination so constructed and arranged that the lifting, advancing,lowering and returning of said foot members 'by said means displaces thecompartment for the merriment of its occupants and to create for theentertainment of onlookers the illusion of a walking robot;

in combination with:

a guide rail arranged in a closed loop and provided with means tosupport the rail at an elevation alongside a course paralleling saidguide rail;

a yoke comprising a pair of arms having free ends rigidly heldby aclosed sidein fixed apart relation in a horizontal plane;

means to independently link the free end of each yoke arm to said guiderail in riding engagement with same, said means so constructed andarranged that each yoke arm is required to follow horizontal turns inthe guide rail, and the said closed side of the yoke projects away fromthe guide rail and towards said course;

means to provide a yielding relationship between the free end of eachyoke arm and said guide rail such that the closed side of the yoke has adegree of freedom to move around the longitudinal axis of the guiderail, sufficient to assure the robot traction on said course when therobot is arranged secured to the closed side of the yoke;

said closed side of the yoke provided secured to one side of saidcompartment in such arrangement that said yoke is carried along the railby the progress of the robot on said course, and the robot is confinedto walking alongside the guide rail and is required to follow the railthrough turns;

said closed side of the yoke provided pivotally connected to saidcompartment along a horizontal axis in such arrangement that the robotis permitted a limited degree of freedom to lean toward and away fromsaid guide rail as a result of the lifting and lowering of said footmembers, sufiicient to impart a rolling displacement to saidcompartment, but not enough to permit the robot to fall on its side.

3. In a walking-robot roundabout:

a stepping robot adapted to the carriage of one or more passengers fortheir merriment and the entertainment of onlookers, comprising:

a torso in the form of an open top passenger compartment having a floorand provided with walls arranged upright and immediately encirclingpassengers in such manner as to confine and restrict their movement insaid compartment; a single seat, said seat positioned rearward in saidcompartment and so constructed and arranged as to provide a space undersaid seat suitable to house a motor; said walls proportioned reaching nohigher than shoulder height of seated passengers;

a head in the form of an enclosure attached on top of said compartment,constructed large enough to encompass the head and shoulders of saidpassengers and so constructed and arranged as to provide visibility forsaid passengers and ventilation of said compartment;

said compartment provided with an opening for passenger access, saidopening located forward of said seat and extending from the top edge ofa wall of the compartment downward toward said floor; said enclosureprovided with an opening corresponding with and effectively verticallyelongating the opening in the compartment, so arranged as to form incombination with same, a passenger entranceway;

arms attached on said compartment;

a single pair of foot members, said foot members located depending andspaced apart from the underside of said floor a distance adequate toprovide passing clearance between the top of said foot members and theunderside of said floor;

means to alternately lift, advance, lower and return said foot members,said means located fixed to and depending from the underside of saidfloor, and so constructed and arranged as to support the Weight of saidcompartment on said foot members;

said foot members proportioned short enough in height in combinationwith said means, and measured when both foot members are standing on thesame level planethat a person standing before said entranceway with onefoot on said plane, can place his other foot on the compartment floorand lift himself up into said compartment;

a motor located in the space under the seat and connected to drive saidmeans;

the combination so constructed and arranged as to provide a passengercarrying robot having a space inside its head contiguous with a spaceinside its torso suitable for occupancy by passengers, and soproportioned that said passengers can occupy the space at theconjunction of the head and torso with sufficient freedom to turn aboutin the act of waving and shouting to onlookers, although the robot isprovided with a compact torso and is scaled such that they must occupyboth the head and torso simultaneously;

the combination so constructed and arranged that the lifting, advancing,lowering and returning of said foot members by said means displaces thecompartment for the merriment of its occupants and to create for theentertainment of onlookers the illusion of a walking robot;

in combination with:

a guide rail arranged in a closed loop and provided with means tosupport the rail at an elevation alongside a course paralleling saidguide rail; said guide rail provided circular in cross-section, saidmeans to support the rail comprising spaced apart posts each providedwith a laterally projecting support extending from the post and fixed tothe guide rail;

a yoke comprising a pair of arms having free ends rigidly heldby aclosed side'in fixed spaced apart relation in a horizontal plane;

each yoke arm provided with a pair of rollers disposed to roll aroundseparate horizontal axes, said axes lying parallel to each other andspaced apart in the same vertical plane; said rollers provided with aconcave periphery corresponding with the circular crosssection of saidguide rail, and arranged one above and one below the guide rail so as toconfine the guide rail between them; means to hold said rollers in thedescribed relationship relative to each other and relative to the guiderail, said means provided pivotally connected to the free end of theyoke arm as seen in the vertical plane in which said circularcrosssection is taken, each laterally projecting support proportionedsufficiently narrower than said crosssection as to allow said rollers adegree of freedom to move around the circumference of said crosssection,sufficient to assure the robot traction on said course when the robot isarranged secured to the closed side of the yoke;

said closed side of the yoke provided secured to one side of saidcompartment in such arrangement that said yoke is carried along the railby the progress of the robot on said course, and the robot is confinedto walking alongside the guide rail and is re quired to follow the railthrough turns;

said closed side of the yoke provided pivotally connected to saidcompartment along a horizontal axis in such arrangement that the robotis permitted a limited degree of freedom to lean toward and away fromsaid guide rail as a result of the lifting and lowering of said footmembers, sufficient to impart a rolling displacement to saidcompartment, but not enough to permit the robot to fall on its side;

said passenger entranceway located in that side wallof thecompartment--that is furtherest from said guide rail.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS1,729,379 Garcia Sept. 24, 1929 1,740,496 Cassidy et al. Dec. 24, 19292,036,427 Meler Apr. 7, 1936

1. IN A WALKING ROUNDABOUT OF THE TYPE WHERE A HUMAN PASSENGER ISTRANSPORTED ON A STEPPING RIDER SUPPORT THAT IS PROVIDED WITH A PAIR OFFOOT MEMBERS, WHERE MEANS ARE PROVIDED TO ALTERNATELY LIFT, ADVANCE,LOWER AND RETURN SAID FOOT MEMBERS, SAID MEANS SO CONSTRUCTED ANDARRANGED AS TO SUPPORT THE WEIGHT OF SAID RIDER SUPPORT ON SAID FOOTMEMBERS, AND WHERE SAID RIDER SUPPORT IS PROVIDED WITH A MOTOR THAT ISCONNECTED TO DRIVE SAID MEANS; IN COMBINATION WITH SAID RIDER SUPPORT: AGUIDE RAIL ARRANGED IN A CLOSED LOOP AND PROVIDED WITH MEANS TO SUPPORTTHE RAIL AT AN ELEVATION ALONGSIDE A COURSE PARALLELING SAID GUIDE RAIL;A YOKE COMPRISING A PAIR OF ARMS HAVING FREE ENDS RIGIDLY HELD-BY ACLOSED SIDE-IN FIXED SPACED APART RELATION IN A HORIZONTAL PLANE; MEANSTO INDEPENDENTLY LINK THE FREE END OF EACH YOKE ARM TO SAID GUIDE RAILIN RIDING ENGAGEMENT WITH SAME, SAID MEANS SO CONSTRUCTED AND ARRANGEDTHAT EACH YOKE ARM IS REQUIRED TO FOLLOW HORIZONTAL TURNS IN THE GUIDERAIL, AND THE SAID CLOSED SIDE OF THE YOKE PROJECTS AWAY FROM THE GUIDERAIL AND TOWARDS SAID COURSE; MEANS TO PROVIDE A YIELDING RELATIONSHIPBETWEEN THE FREE END OF EACH YOKE ARM AND SAID GUIDE RAIL SUCH THAT THECLOSED SIDE OF THE YOKE HAS A DEGREE OF FREEDOM TO MOVE AROUND THELONGITUDINAL AXIS OF THE GUIDE RAIL, SUFFICIENT TO ASSURE THE RIDERSUPPORT TRACTION ON SAID COURSE WHEN THE RIDER SUPPORT IS ARRANGEDSECURED TO THE CLOSED SIDE OF THE YOKE; SAID CLOSED SIDE OF THE YOKEPROVIDED SECURED TO ONE SIDE OF SAID RIDER SUPPORT IN SUCH ARRANGEMENTTHAT SAID YOKE IS CARRIED ALONG THE RAIL BY THE PROGRESS OF THE RIDERSUPPORT ON SAID COURSE, AND THE RIDER SUPPORT IS CONFINED TO WALKINGALONGSIDE THE GUIDE RAIL AND IS REQUIRED TO FOLLOW THE RAIL THROUGHTURNS; SAID CLOSED SIDE OF THE YOKE PROVIDED PIVOTALLY CONNECTED TO SAIDRIDER SUPPORT ALONG A HORIZONTAL AXIS IN SUCH ARRANGEMENT THAT THE RIDERSUPPORT IS PERMITTED A LIMITED DEGREE OF FREEDOM TO LEAN TOWARD AND AWAYFROM SAID GUIDE RAIL AS A RESULT OF THE LIFTING AND LOWERING OF SAIDFOOT MEMBERS, SUFFICIENT TO IMPART A ROLLING DISPLACEMENT TO SAID RIDERSUPPORT, BUT NOT ENOUGH TO PERMIT THE RIDER SUPPORT TO FALL ON ITS SIDE.